Homes.com® Reports More than One-Third of Housing Markets Have Topped Peak Prices

NORFOLK, Va. (December 8, 2014) – Homes.com®, leading online real estate destination, has released the September Local Market Index. Analyzing data through the first three quarters of 2014, 37 percent of the nation’s 300 large and midsize real estate markets have attained or exceeded their peak median prices reached during the real estate boom, compared to 27 percent last year.

New Price Peaks Mean More Homeowner Equity

According to Homes.com’s September Local Market Index, a price performance summary of repeat sales in the top 100 markets, and its companion Midsize Markets Report for defined areas ranked 101-300, a total of 111 markets have now fully recovered their peak prices. This has restored hundreds of millions of dollars of lost homeowner equity.

Not only have a record number of markets exceeded their highest prices, the average rebound percentage for all 300 markets tracked by Homes.com that were impacted by the Great Recession reached 93.91 percent in September, a new record for the nation as a whole and evidence of the breadth of the recovery.

“Despite reports of moderating price appreciation, through the first three quarters of the year, a record number of markets reached the highest median prices in their histories, exceeding even the highest levels of the housing boom 10 years ago,” said David Mele, president of Homes.com. “What this means for millions of owners is the restoration of equity lost in the housing collapse. This will allow them to sell, refinance or use that equity for other purposes, breathing new life into local economies.”

Largest Markets Continue to Appreciate

Continued price growth in large and midsize markets during September helped drive the recovery. Of the top 100 markets, 67 markets increased their three-month average index point change in September, down nine from last month. Stockton-Lodi, California had the largest three-month average increase of 0.44 percent, while Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin experienced the largest three-month average decrease of 0.58 percent.

For the fourth consecutive month, Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nevada took the top spot in annual index point change with an increase of 7.34 percent. New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana came in second with an annual percent change of 7.27 percent. California had four markets in the top yearly gaining list, but saw that number diminish in the past few months. The West still dominates the top increasing markets on an annual basis, with seven markets seeing index point increases. The remaining three markets are in the South: New Orleans-Metairie, Louisiana; Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida; and Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida. In September, the annual percentage for the top 10 markets ranged from 5 percent to 7 percent, slightly lower than the 6 percent to 8 percent reported in August and 8 percent to 10 percent in July.

Of the nation’s 100 largest markets, Stockton-Lodi, California had the highest percentage increase over a three-month period of 0.44 percent. The top 10 markets with the highest three-month average percent change were shared between the West and South. Four markets were in the South with Jackson, Mississippi being the top market in that region with a three-month average percentage of 0.36 percent. The three-month average percentage for the top 10 markets ranged from 0.24 percent to 0.44 percent, slightly lower than the 0.31 percent to 0.55 percent reported in August. The three-month average percentage change for all top 100 markets was 0.05 percent, lower than the 0.09 percent recorded in August.

Largest Markets Summary:

Stockton-Lodi, California reported the largest three-month average increase with a 0.44 percent index point increase.

Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minnesota-Wisconsin saw the largest three-month average decrease at 0.58 percent.

Of the midsize markets, Bend-Redmond, Oregon had the largest three-month average increase and an annual increase of 0.51 percent and 8.38 percent, respectively.

The South continued to dominate recovery with 20 markets seeing rebound percentages greater than 100 percent. The West came in second with seven markets having a greater than 100 percent rebound.

Nearly All Midsize Markets Gain

Measured on a year-over-year basis, 199 out of 200 midsize markets tracked by Homes.com had positive gains in market value, with annual changes being more distributed throughout the country. Of the top 10 markets, seven are located in the West, two in the Midwest and one in the South. The average annual price appreciation for all mid-tier markets for September was 4.29 percent, down 45 percent from the average annual appreciation in January 2014 (7.89 percent). Most markets in the West were hard hit by the recession but are regaining their housing price momentum due to the expanding economy.

Reviewing the midsize markets, 147 markets reported an increase over a three-month average, up six from the previous month. Of the combined top 100 markets and 200 midsize markets, 111 markets, or 37 percent, have achieved full pricing recovery, increasing by three markets from August’s report. Analyzing year-over-year gains, both the top 100 and midsize markets are showing signs of stabilizing, with average home equity gains at 4.28 percent for the year compared to 7.89 percent in September 2013.

Midsize Market by Region and Division:

The top performing midsize market is Bend-Redmond, Oregon.

The top performing markets did not see a percentage higher than 0.51 percent.

The bottom performing market was Claremont-Lebanon, New Hampshire-Vermont.

All lowest performing markets decreased their three-month average.

The three-month average percent change of top-performing markets was the highest in the Pacific Northwest at 0.51 percent, followed by the South Atlantic at 0.46 percent. The region with the lowest three-month average increase was the Mid-Atlantic with a 0.14 percent increase.

Three of the bottom performing markets saw drops in their monthly change, with Claremont-Lebanon, New Hampshire-Vermont seeing a monthly drop of 0.46 percent. Other markets that saw drops in home pricing monthly were Jackson, Mississippi and Kingsport-Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia with drops of 0.35 percent and 0.31 percent, respectively.

As one of the nation’s top online real estate destinations, Homes.com inspires consumers to dream big. From affordable houses to luxurious estates, condos, apartment rentals and more, Homes.com features more than 3 million property listings and exclusive distribution of over 20,000 apartment listings from ForRent.com in a user-friendly format, making finding your next home easy. Visitors to the Homes.com blog will find a collection of rich information and posts on DIY projects, painting, organization tips and more, providing the ultimate resource for everything home related. From finding your first apartment to buying your first home, upgrading, downsizing and everything in between, Homes.com is an inspiring and engaging partner in every phase of the home buying or renting process.

Visit Homes.com and download the Homes.com Mobile App, Rentals Mobile App, or Mortgage Calculator to assist in your home search. For home decor tips and more, visit Blog.Homes.com.